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The Explorers
The Explorers is a 2014 animated feature film written and directed by KM and produced and distributed by KM Publishing. The film depicts the origin story of LT Fan, Dora, and Stelios all up to the point of SSK Adventures. Premiering theatrically on February 27, 2016, the film was a commercial and financial success and received largely positive reviews from film critics. The film is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for strong violence, action and peril, and disturbing/startling images. The film is somewhat of a prelude to SSK Adventures. A sequel was released in 2016 entitled Eyes. Plot Introduction In an orphanage in the Shinai Yoku kingdom, several boys are bullying a young child for having a birth defect. As they prepare to leave for supper, one of the boys jostles the young child into a wall. The young child tolerates the harassment and keeps his head down as he begins sobbing. The director and staff of the orphanage neglect the child as well, goading him about his birth defect involving his eyes. As a puddle of tears form beneath the child, a profusion of negative emotions go off within him. Looking at a portrait of his deceased parents, he aspires for a better life, but more importantly, power and superiority. The title sequence initiates. Two Thieves Meanwhile, two adolescents are running away from local authorities after having just pilfered from a grocery store. After successfully fleeing, the two teens, Dora and Stelios, rejoice over their accomplishment and celebrate by eating what they stole: two chocolate bars. Though Stelios is content, he immediately begins to show signs of regret which Dora picks up on. A short dispute engages between the two about whether the amateur robbery was worth it but the two make up as usual. Having been friends since childhood, they could have never got into a serious quarrel. Stelios, however, doubts his relationship with the scofflaw Dora. Back at the orphanage, the young child gathers his belongings before nightfall. He then proceeds to sneak into the director's office and snatch his own files from the cabinet. Planning to leave the orphanage forever, the child briefly considers pouring rat poison into their supply of milk as a parting gift but decides not to, believing himself to be the better person. After making his way outside, the child feels rejuvenated as if it was his first time seeing the daylight of the sun. Unfortunately, he never thought he'd make it past the director's office so he had no idea what his next move would be. Subsequently, the seven-year-old child begins wandering around the city aimlessly. Poverty Later the next day, Dora met with Stelios at the riverbank where Stelios was attempting to skip a stone all the way across but to no avail. Dora tried on her first time and effortlessly got the rock to the other side of the river, which prompted Stelios to evoke how Dora was always good at surpassing him. After a brief conversation questioning their friendship, Dora approached Stelios with the subject of relocating, as she was tired of the laws she had to abide to. Stelios quickly refused as he was content with his adoptive parents. Dora expected such a response and took Stelios to show him something that would change his mind. Hungry and defenseless, the child acknowledges the lifestyle of the Banditudes and imitates them faultlessly, much to their annoyance. The child fends off a few of the creatures before running off. The child eventually teaches himself how to fight but was forced to take to the cold streets and rummage through trash bins for scraps of food. There is corruption galore in the Shinai Yoku. Stelios' adoptive parents were officers of the Shinai Yoku Police Department, a profession that Stelios thought was mighty righteous. Dora took Stelios to the more dilapidated areas of the Shinai Yoku, were thievery was rampant. It was then that Stelios realized Dora had been following in their footsteps. She explains to Stelios that life is not a gift but a struggle that one must constantly sustain. She supports her statement by introducing Stelios to a young boy named Dan, a poverty-stricken child who has been neglected of a proper education. After walking away, Dora tells Stelios that Dan's grandfather is to be executed on the following day. Trying to support his grandchild by stealing, he was caught in the process. Dora lies and tells Stelios the executioners are his adoptive parents. Stelios has never been exposed to this side of life and is predictably shocked. He agrees to relocate with Dora, as his viewpoint on his parents and the police have changed. Relocation As the two begin to leave Shinai Yoku later that night, Stelios questions Dora about her adoptive parents. Dora divulges that she has no adoptive parents, contrary to what she told Stelios when they were younger. She explains that her father was killed before she was born and her mother died when giving birth to her. "There is no social mobility," Dora says, "when you're born poor, you stay poor, and you learn how to raise yourself." After walking many miles, the duo are confronted by the Sea of Sands, a large barren desert. Quotes TBA. Cast Soundtrack The film consists of licensed music. The genres of music included in the film vary, ranging from ambient music to hip hop and alternative rock to even jazz fusion. Track listing